Polish media write that during the talks in Brest, special forces from Lublinets were engaged in guarding the Ukrainians and Abramovich.
Polish special forces guarded Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, as well as a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov, during negotiations with the Russian Federation in Brest at the beginning of a full-scale war. The Polish Dziennik gazeta pravna writes about this, citing its sources.
It is reported that the Ukrainian delegation flew out of Byala Podlaska on an S-70i Black Hawk helicopter, which belongs to the Polish GROM special forces. The servicemen of this group flew the helicopter, but the special forces from Lublinets, who had previously collaborated with their Ukrainian colleagues, were directly involved in the protection.
The publication writes that these Polish units, together with the forces of the United States and Great Britain, helped Ukraine form the Special Operations Forces.
According to journalists, the flight of Ukrainian high-ranking officials to Brest from the Polish side was supervised by the then head of the Prime Minister’s Office Michal Dvorczyk and Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz. In turn, the flights of the Ukrainian delegation and the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich for negotiations from the Polish Jasenka to Ankara were the then head of the office of President Andrzej Duda, Jakub Kumoch.
In early March 2022, it was reportedly unclear whether Ukrainian officials would be able to return home after the talks in Belarus. Therefore, the Polish security service gave certain guarantees. The risk of a possible incident with NATO soldiers was analyzed.
Negotiations in Turkey
The material says that everything was different with the negotiations with Turkey, since Kumoch also flew to Ankara “at his own peril and risk.” He was accompanied by Colonel of the Foreign Intelligence Directorate Robert Tshechak.
Also, as journalists write, the Turkish intelligence service MİT (Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı) was responsible for the safety of the Ukrainian delegation and Abramovich’s intermediary on board the Turkish government aircraft TR010. However, her officer presented himself as an employee of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Poisoning of Ukrainian delegates
It is also reported that during the Yasenka-Ankara flight, the Ukrainian delegates and Abramovich showed severe symptoms of poisoning. They did not want to disclose this so as not to spoil the atmosphere of negotiations with the Russian Federation.
According to journalists, only a few months later, one of the participants in the negotiations from Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, said that analyzes were carried out in Lviv and Ankara, which showed poisoning with an unknown chemical substance.
Poland’s interest
The source told Polish journalists that Poland also planned to get first-hand information about the talks between Russia and Ukraine. It was assumed that, having seen the real resistance of the Ukrainians, the Russians would go to “real negotiations.” However, this did not happen.
“Moreover, the result of these negotiations was Abramovich’s contacts, which subsequently helped in the exchange of prisoners with Azovstal for Russians. He must have fought for his life himself. He wanted to stay in the West and at the same time not expose himself to Putin. He was looking for support in Turkey and Israel,” the source said.
Earlier, the media wrote that despite the fact that the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations are actually frozen, the Kremlin has maintained unofficial contacts with the Ukrainian authorities. And at present, Roman Abramovich devotes a lot of time to the exchange of prisoners of war.
